


Natural

by yuki_onna_sicarius



Series: Reks and Rasler drabbles [3]
Category: Final Fantasy XII
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-11
Updated: 2017-06-11
Packaged: 2018-11-12 16:44:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11165919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yuki_onna_sicarius/pseuds/yuki_onna_sicarius
Summary: Reks has always been good with kids, and Rasler admires this about him





	Natural

Reks is good with kids. That's a fact that still amazes Rasler, though he couldn't explain why if someone asked. If he had to guess, he would probably say it's because he isn't used to the idea of kids being cradled all the time, and loved by a parent-figure. He had never felt that kind of love before, as his parents preferred tough love, if it could be called that. Most of the time, his parents ignored him completely.

So seeing Reks surrounded by the Lowtown orphans as they begged to be held and loved was a foreign sight for him. Even more foreign was him complying, hugging and even kissing each child on the forehead. It made Rasler's heart swell and a smile always appeared on his lips.

This day, though, most of the children had gone to Old Dalan's house to hear another one of his stories. Reks didn't seek out any of the children, quite the opposite; he was honestly glad that the children were occupied at the moment. They couple was meeting with a petitioner that day.

As they were looking for the person they were meeting, one of the orphans, a child of no more than three, waddled up to them and reached for Reks. This was the child Reks loved the most, the one he could never say no to. He was the youngest of the orphans, and most people turned a blind eye to him.

"Okay," Reks sighed, though he was smiling. He bent down and gingerly picked the boy up.

"I'm scared," the boy said.

"What's wrong, Matty?" Reks asked, gently pushing the boy's head onto his shoulder.

"Old Dalan is telling a scary story."

Rasler chuckled. Dalan often told stories with angry dragons, which always scared Matty. Reks brushed his fingers comfortingly through the boy's hair and started telling him a story with a princess who wore a blue dress, dubbed the blue princess, which was Matty's favorite story. They were still on course for their potential client's house.

The client greeted them cheerily, though a bit worried. Her mousy brown hair was pulled up in a disheveled bun, her brown eyes slightly frantic. The left sleeve of her shirt was falling down.

"Thank you for coming," she said and waved them to a seat. "I thank you so much for answering my petition so quickly, I'm having a bit of a breakdown."

"What's the problem?" Reks asked, setting Matty down on the ground, firmly holding onto the child's hand. "I believe your petition mentioned an opera house."

"Yes, yes," she replied. "I just bought the old abandoned opera house in the hopes of reopening it, but when I went in to inspect it, this ghosty monster appeared! I'm set to open in a month and I haven't been able to get anyone in to fix it up! And then there's the problem of this thing haunting my dreams."

That explained her disheveled appearance.

Matty whimpered as he listened to the story, and Rasler wondered what Reks was going to do. On one hand, Reks loved Matty and would do anything for him to keep him safe and happy. On the other hand, this was an important hunt that was going to pay well, and they needed as much gil as possible.

Reks bent down and spoke softly to the child. "Matty, why don't you go wait outside for us, okay? We'll be out soon." The boy nodded and waddled out of the small apartment, leaving the two men with the woman.

"Is there anything else we need to know?" Rasler asked, turning his attention back to his client. "Anything specific to make it appear?"

"No, not that I'm aware of," the woman replied.

"Then let's make this official."

A contract was written up and signed by all three of them. Once everything was finalized, and the woman gave them a small pouch of gil as an added thanks, the couple walked out to find Matty sitting, waiting for them. When they walked out, he immediately latched onto Reks' legs, which made both men smile.

"Come here, Matty," Reks cooed and picked him up, pressing a loving kiss to his cheek. "Did that lady scare you?" Matty nodded and made a small whining noise.

"Well, what should we do now?" Rasler asked. "We can't go to the opera house right now, it's too late in the day."

"I don't know about you, but I could really use some food," Reks replied, hiking Matty up higher on his hip. "Let's go to the Sandsea."

"Ugh, again?" Rasler complained, though he couldn't stay mad at his partner. He sighed and nodded his head, leading the way to the tavern.

Because of the late time of day, the tavern wasn't very full, so their food came quickly. Matty enjoyed dipping the bread they ordered in the red sauce that came with their food. When he ran out of that, he allowed Reks to feed him the actual food they got.

Rasler couldn't help but smile at the scene in front of him. He couldn't help but feel a flutter in his heart, a strange sort of pride and love. He wanted this image to last forever, he wanted to wake to see Reks holding their child in his arms lovingly as he prepared for the day.

Alas, they had no children, and probably never would. As much as Reks loved the orphans, he refused to adopt any of them because of their profession. He was afraid to adopt and then orphan them again.

And yet Rasler couldn't help but think that the image looked so natural, Matty tucked in the protective grasp of Reks' arms. So it came as no surprise to him that he suggested they take the baby home with them that night. The late night walk home was calm, quiet, as most of the city was already asleep, and soon Matty joined everyone else, resting his head on Reks' shoulder, his eyes fluttering shut.

When they arrived at their apartment, Rasler gently took Matty from Reks, who went to make sure the windows were closed and curtains pulled shut. Rasler took Matty into the only room in the apartment and laid him in the middle of the bed. When Reks finally came into the room for the night, he smiled at Rasler, who smiled back.

"He's sleeping in bed with us?" the Dalmascan asked. His partner nodded and waved him over.

"Nowhere else for him to sleep," Rasler replied. "I can sleep on the floor, if you'd feel better with that."

Reks chuckled, quiet enough not to wake Matty. "Growing up in that big palace of yours, did you ever imagine yourself laying on the floor of your own home, or out in the dirt and grass?"

Rasler thought for a moment, trying to think of a time when he had. When none presented themselves to him, he shook his head. "No," he said, "but I'm glad I do. I may not have seen it happening, but if I never did, I doubt we would still be together. I did it all for you, after all."

Reks smiled widely, a rare, most genuine smile that he reserved for the most intimate of moments. He leaned over, careful not to disturb Matty, and kissed Rasler. "I'm glad you chose me," he admitted, "as selfish as that sounds. You're one of the best things to ever happen to me. And I want you to know that I think you'd make a great father."

Rasler blinked at him, a little thrown off by the comment. Reks just smiled before laying down, pulling Matty close to his chest and closing his eyes. Rasler smiled again, watching the two for a moment before laying down as well, wrapping a protective arm around them both.


End file.
